Car FYI

Photo Credit: ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images With the start of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, competitors racing with the Chevrolet bow tie will be running an unmarked vehicle. Of course, fans of the sport will instantly recognize the car as the sixth generation Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 that has raced since 2018 and since 2022 in the form of the Gen 7 stock car, there is no mention of the Camaro name on the vehicle for 2025. The discontinuation of the production Chevrolet Camaro following the 2024 model year prompted the adjustment to how the brand’s vehicles would be represented in racing. Running what is essentially an obsolete car for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, the Chevrolet contingent are not the first teams to compete with cars no longer running off assembly lines. From the foundation of NASCAR in 1948 to the 1970s, Cup races would commonly feature cars across several model years but a Grand National Series (later Cup Series) rule required that cars be based...

Photo Credit: Car FYI Canada/Chris Nagy For several decades, automobiles have been introducing motorists to a trendy alternative to the familiar key. Originally allowing for the remote locking and unlocking of doors as well as opening a trunk, the key fob would eventually permit starting of an ignition. The technology of the modern key fob has even evolved beyond its initial buttons with many new vehicles greeting the driver by unlocking and starting simply by an approach.  Unfairly, with the emergence of new technology, there always seems to be those looking to nefariously exploit it. As the role of the physical key is being usurped by the key fob, a new avenue of car theft has the ability to bypass the long-operating defense of a vehicle. Thieves have been able to use electronic devices to acquire or spoof the radio signal of an automobile’s key fob and proceed to steal a vehicle in a relatively clean manner compared to previous methods of car theft. This type of auto theft ha...

Photo Credit: Chris Nagy A little less than a month ago, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) held a Capital Markets Day function discussing plans across their entire fleet of brands. Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, FIAT and Maserati all received mention through the presentation by FCA Chief Executive Officer detailing the company’s plans over a five-year time line. Expanded model lineups, electrification and an expanding autonomous driving partnership with Waymo were subjects being highlighted in the major announcement to investors and financial analysts. Receiving notably less attention through the FCA Capital Markets Day were two classic American brands. While Chrysler’s Pacifica were connected to the Waymo announcement but received little additional mention in regards to product plans for the brand as a whole. As for the Dodge brand, the entire presentation went with little acknowledgement leading to questions on the brand’s future relevance. Since 1914, the marque existed as the legacy...

Photo Credit: Mattel, Inc. For any fan of Star Wars, the Stormtroopers is instantly recognized as a feared military group operating under the Emperor. While fierce in numbers and equipped with superior weaponry, it is somewhat surprising to the reason how the Stormtroopers can be so terrifying judging by the movies in the original trilogy. Despite their often overwhelming numbers, they're often beaten by the heroes in the Star Wars franchise. Stormtroopers' shaky aim has also been a source of comedic reference. Still, the white armoured army of the Galactic Empire remains a stable of Star Wars. Corresponding with Mattel's release of all-new toys for what is possibility the most popular film franchise around, Stormtroopers invaded the streets of the New York City. Eight specially-decorated Dodge Charger SRT 392 sedans appeared in the Big Apple on Friday September 4th known as Force Friday. The so-called Star War...

Last year, the Mopar world was awakened by Dodge's new super high performance SRT Hellcat line of vehicles elevating the cause of muscle cars to near ridiculous level. A supercharged HEMI V-8 powerplant pumping out 707 horsepower and over 200-mile per hour speed potential were the numbers expected from a race car, not the most powerful production vehicle built under the Dodge brand. First appearing in the form of the two-door Challenger, the SRT Hellcat treatment was performed to the Dodge Charger sedan later last year. Now that the 2015 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and 2015 Challenger SRT Hellcat has reached dealerships, the vehicle has moved quickly into the hands of buyers. Late February, FCA US (Dodge's parent company) learned of some of their dealers have been engaging in poor conduct in selling SRT Hellcat models that would not be available for months or perhaps n...